Some Changes for the Summer

Well, as you can see from the title there are going to be some changes on Lose Time Reading for the next few months. No, I am not going away or taking a hiatus… I’m simply just going to be changing up things on the blog.

The past few weeks I have become increasingly overwhelmed, and obviously that is no one’s fault but my own, but I’ve found that even thinking about reading and/or blogging I get stressed. Not because I don’t enjoy it (totally the opposite, I’m a bit obsessed I think) but because there are TOO MANY BOOKS!!! I have really been out of control when it comes to requesting galleys prior to mid-May, accepting reviews and just buying, buying, BUYING! I am obtaining books way faster than I can read so here is where the change part comes into play.

I’m closing my reviews down till September. I’ve stopped requesting eARCS and I’m not going to be accepting any until September(there are a few exceptions in my review policy). I have plenty of review books that I still need to read and at least 6 that should have been read WAY before now. I need to get this under control so I don’t feel this nagging weight on my shoulders. And it’s not just review books, I want to read what I want. I miss just reading the books that I’ve purchased/borrowed from the library and it really isn’t happening lately.

I thought this was the perfect time to do this because it’s the summer. I want to be able to read outside and relax as well as get to those copies of mine I’ve been dying to read but have had to put off because of one thing or another. This leads into a few other changes taking place…

I’m switching up/removing/adding some posts & memes! I’ve decided that I’m not going to be doing Stacking the Shelves every week. I may do it biweekly, or I may do it monthly I’ve not entirely decided yet but it won’t be every week. I don’t want to have to “worry” if I have “enough” books to fill my stacking the shelves post! I also will only be participating in Top Ten Tuesday (besides the sporadic haul post) as far as regular memes go. As much as I love Book Blogger Confessions I’m finding it really hard to have enough time to sit down and view all of the others posts. By the time I actually get the time to respond to comments or take a look at the other posts its DAYS later, way after the fact and I feel awful about it. Instead of participating I will actually be having my own discussion posts on the blog. They won’t be set a certain day, they will just be whenever I feel like I have something to say but look for those in the near future! I also will be starting a book blogger tips type feature. I’ve been planning this for months but because of all my worries I have yet to actually have it come to fruition. By eliminating and changing things it will give me more time to add some of these things I’ve been dying to!

So folks, that about wraps up that ramble! All in all I will still be here just as much, things will just be a bit different 🙂 I’m looking forward to spending more time reading this summer !!!

9 Responses to “Some Changes for the Summer”

Summer is a really good time to re-evaluate and decide what to keep/get rid of. I’m doing the same myself! I have been better of late keeping up with TTT – I like that the posts are available ahead of time, so I don’t have to rush to figure out what to talk about! I’ve been debating cutting StS down to bi-weekly, too. I think summer is a good time for me to do that, because I’m not picking up as many new titles. I hope you figure out something that works for you! 🙂Merin @ Read and Reviewed recently posted..Stacking the Shelves #54

I agree Merin, TTT is the easiest to organize because they are posted so far ahead of time. I’ve actually been spending a few hours today putting those together, hopefully for the whole summer(or at least a good start). I’m getting mostly library books lately and since I’m not taking review books for awhile it makes sense to cut down the StS!! I hope you summer is going well so far Merin 🙂Lauren recently posted..Stacking the Shelves (51)

Those review requests and galley sites can really stress you out, right? I refrain from going anywhere near NetGalley and Edelwiess, and I take under 10 requests a year at this point, all from people I’ve worked with in the past. I own almost 600 books that I have not yet read!! o.O Needless to say, there comes a point where you have to draw a line. A big, fat, deep line so that you don’t try to to skip over it…

Take it easy and don’t let the FUN of this hobby get the best of you. Though, it happens to ALL of us from time to time.Smash Attack recently posted..Smash reviews Game by Barry Lyga

Good for you for taking a step back and reevaluating. I know that I was feeling overwhelmed when I first started blogging because I was participating in tons of memes and trying to read and review. I now only do TTT, but I find that’s still sometimes too much so I only participate about once a month, or whenever the topic inspires me 🙂Melissa @ Writer Grrl Reads recently posted..The Storyteller – Jodi Picoult